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The rumour mill about the latest instalment in BioWare's space opera franchise is churning along, and with a fourth Mass Effect game now confirmed to be in development at BioWare's studios in Montreal, we're eager as ever to get the latest.

E3 2014 showed off a spanking trailer for Mass Effect 4 which will have fans of the series giddy.

However, details such as what it will be called and when it will be set in the franchise’s timeline are completely up in the air.

“To call the next game Mass Effect 4 or ME4 is doing it a disservice and seems to cause a lot of confusion here,” BioWare community manager Chris Priestly said.

“We have already said that the Commander Shepard trilogy is over and that the next game will not feature him/her. That is the only detail you have on the game. I see people saying 'well, they'll have to pick a canon ending'. No, because the game does not have to come after. Or before. Or off to the side. Or with characters you know. Or yaddayaddayadda.”

Mass Effect 4: Release date and Formats

Whilst there's no set release date for ME4 some recent revelations could explain why many are suggesting it won't be released until late 2014 or even early 2015.

Speaking on Twitter GM for BioWare's Edmonton & Montreal studios Aaryn Flynn confirmed that the team at BioWare have actually been considering an original Mass Effect Trilogy remake for PS4 and Xbox One which would then take valuable time and resources away from the development of Mass Effect 4.

@shinobi602@YanickRRoy We have discussed that internally. If we can put solid plans together we'll share. Great to hear you're keen

When ME4 does arrive though it'll more than likely launch exclusively for the Sony PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One due to the massive system requirements that BioWare will surely be aiming for.

Mass Effect 4: Engine

At a recent Battlefield 4 event in Sweden, DICE showed off gameplay footage from its fortcoming miliary shooter running on the Frostbite 3 Engine. The developer said that the Frostbite 3 Engine would also be the most licensed gameplay engine within EA.

Late in March, BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn then confirmed via his twitter account that Mass Effect 4 will be running on Frostbite 3.

"We're using Frostbite 3 for both DA3 and the next Mass Effect. Different games but same engine fundamentals," Flynn tweeted.

Mass Effect 4: Pictures

This year's E3 played host to BioWare and a super fresh trailer for Mass Effect 4. Stay tuned.

The trailer revealed a huge new world with new characters and a more expansive environment to explore. They also used the latter third of the video to tease a brand new IP. Brilliant.

If there's one thing Devs like it's twitter and no doubt at the approval of Bioware they've been tweeting their progress with some handy teaser images showing the game in progress: